New Zealand is Seeing Dust...

My dust that is. I cannot believe that I only have 5 and a half weeks left already. Where has the time gone? I can still remember when I was on the 6 month countdown to come to New Zealand, didn't have a school to teach at yet, and definitely had no idea where I would be living. Then I was on the 16 day countdown to leave for Thailand, and now I cannot get over the fact that in two months, I will be home. Lately however, I have been feeling slightly homesick and am feeling more and more ready to see my family and tell them all about my trip in person and not over the phone. But I am not wishing my time away yet.... I still have a few more places I want to see (Dunedin, Queenstown, The Sounds) and I know that when I get home, I will only be wishing I was back in the infamous city of Christchurch, enjoying Yellow Rocket bagels and sauntering my way through the square. There is much that I will miss here and it saddens me to have to think about saying goodbye already. I know that the time will go by faster than I want it to and when it finally comes time, I will have a hard time saying goodbye to this wonderful country and everything it has to offer. I have much to look forward to when I go home though, including our annual four day quading trip, my grandma's 80th birthday party, my car :), and of course all my friends (maybe even a little Costco renuion!)

I am anxious to see the prairies again, to see that welcoming sign as I drive into Fort McMurray, to talk to friends on the phone for more than 20 minutes because I'm worried my phone card is going to run out, to have a mother-daughter day, and to see my brothers. I hear my little brother, Michael, who is almost 13, is experiencing puberty and getting some facial hair. Wouldn't want to miss that! haha. And I am looking forward to being back in the family loop and to know what's going on in my own country.


Although I am excited to go home, I am going to miss all of the absolutely awesome and precious kids that I teach. This week, we are doing a reading unit on Shel Silverstein which should be really fun. I am on full control for the week so I am in for a busy week! We are also starting our new topic which is "Incredible Journeys" and we will be learning a lot about animals, but especially penguins which I am very excited about.

Well, I am feeling better now that I have written about missing home and this had me realize how I don't even have time to miss Canada yet! I need to really treasure my last few weeks here, because before I know it, they will be gone...

The Ends of the Earth

Having just arrived home from a 16 day road trip around the north island of New Zealand, I am overwhelmed by all of the things I could write. First, the trip would have absolutely not been the same if it wasn't for the amazing company I had: Lindsay, Larissa, and Chris made the trip what it was. I cannot count the number of times we laughed until it hurt.......

For fear of dragging this out and wanting to include every detail, I will pinpoint the highlights. First, our main tour even started out in Abel Tasman National Park where we a) stayed in a tipi, b) did a full day trip of sea kayaking, c) saw the most beautiful look-out spots, d) Larissa and I went skydiving from 13,000 feet!!, e) went on a 24 km walk that absolutely killed my legs the next day.

Then it was off to Wellington where we felt odd being in the city again and wanted to be in the small country towns. But we finally received our little rental car and then there was just no stopping us. Next it was off to Taupo/Rotorua where I did the 143 foot pluge from the Swoop. Pretty crazy. Then we sadly lost Chris to a small fire at his apartment after which he flew home to assess the damage. We missed him though. Then Coramandel came which I was unable to see due to a 24 hour flu I caught somewhere along the way. Sad I know, but true. Finally, it was off to Apihara and Cape Reinga where we saw the very end of New Zealand and where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific. We then were shown one of the hugest sand dunes I have ever seen and we proceeded to toboggan down it which was unreal. We also crusied along 90 mile beach, an actual beach that is used as a highway as it is too far north to build a decent road. Our final destination was Auckland where we braved the Sky Tower and I was reunited with my two kiwi friends, Jeanne and Helen, that I had met in Thailand in January.

There you have it, 16 days crammed into two small paragraphs. I could go on and on about but I figured I would just include the major highlights. Of course, we saw many more things (National Museum) and many more places (Nelson, Picton, Whangarei) that I could have included. It was truly and sincerely one of the most amazing trips I have had and it actually felt like we were gone a month as we had done so much in such little time. My favorite was Cape Reinga because it looked like a paiting with all of the colors meshed into one: blues, greens, whites, aqua; all rolling onto the same shore.

Catch Phrase was a popular pastime and I successfully finished two books. I truly could not have asked for a better holiday. The roads in NZ as we soon found out, are among the windiest in the world, I am sure, and travelling over many mountains and hills and valleys was a daily routine. It honestly and whole heartedly feels like I have seen and experienced one of the most beautiful countries in the world and I feel nothing short of blessed.

Now for Monday, where it is back to the grind of PSIII......

Cultural Day

This past Friday was the most fun I have ever had in a placement. Friday was cultural day and believe me, this school went all out. First, students were to come dressed up in something that reflected their cultural background. It was amazing! Kids went far beyond what I ever expected and there were Traditional Korean costumes, Kimonos, Chinese style dresses, NZ rugby jerseys, and even a kid from Whales! Of course, I was dressed in jeans and a Calgary Flames shirt.

First thing in the morning, we had the school wide assembly and man, were there some amazing performances! I saw the Haka, a soman dance and song, professional Argentinian dancers, a "Hello" song performed by the junior, middle, and senior school where each little group of kids was dressed up from the country that their greeting came from. It was such an amazing show to watch.

But of course, the highlight of the assembly for me was that I got to perform a country line dance for the school to represent Alberta. I was lucky enough to get some cowboy hats and bandanas in and the students exchanged their school uniforms for a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. And we all had mini Canadian flag stuck in our back pockets. I had 9 students and we danced our hearts out to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's "Cadillac Ranch." It was so much fun but took lots of time to get those little boys to all have the same timing. But it was so worth it and we we all had a ball!

Then in the afternoon, we had a food tasting time and we were able to go and sample food from all over the world! There was Samoa, the Cook Islands, Israel, Mexico, India, Phillipines, Korea, France, Germany, Argentina, NZ, Australia, Canada/US, Japan, and even Scotland. I pigged out on cookies, breads, rice, sausages, you name it, we had it!! It was so amazing and such a great experience for the kids.

What a great way to bring a school together! It was absolutely amazing and I am so lucky to have been ablt to share in it!